Willoughby Avenue - KOLUMN Magazine

This Ashanti prince became the First Black Mining Engineer in the world in the 1850s | Face2Face Africa

February 9, 2020February 9, 2020Ghana, Technology

Born on April 24, 1827, Ghana’s Kwasi Boakye is the world’s first black mining engineer. The African-Dutch mining engineer was a prince of the Ashanti Empire and the eldest son of Kwaku Dua II, a king of the Ashanti kingdom. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] In 1837, along with his cousin Kwame Poku, the prince left to pursue […]

Marc Lamont Hill is Against Snoop Dogg’s Comments on Gayle King | The Source

February 7, 2020February 7, 2020KOLUMN Magazine

“You can have a critique of Gayle King —though folk should actually watch the whole interview— AND hold Snoop accountable for the misogynistic way he engaged her.” – Marc Lamont Hill [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] documentary Snoop Dogg’s Instagram rant, addressing Gayle King’s conversation with Lisa Leslie lifted some eyebrows. During an interview with a good friend […]

Who Really Killed Malcolm X? | The New York Times

February 7, 2020February 7, 2020African American History, Black History ...

Fifty-five years later, the case may be reopened. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] For more than half a century, scholars have maintained that prosecutors convicted the wrong men in the assassination of Malcolm X. Now, 55 years after that bloody afternoon in February 1965, the Manhattan district attorney’s office is reviewing whether to reinvestigate the murder. Some new […]

LGBTQ Rights Icon Bayard Rustin Granted Posthumous Pardon In California | HuffPost

February 6, 2020February 6, 2020African American History, Black History ...

Rustin, who co-organized the March on Washington in 1963, was jailed for having gay sex nearly 70 years ago. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s governor announced Wednesday that he is posthumously pardoning a gay civil rights leader while creating a new pardon process for others convicted under outdated laws punishing homosexual activity. Bayard […]

Biography of William Still, Father of the Underground Railroad | ThoughtCo.

February 6, 2020February 6, 2020African American History, Black History ...

Magical realism meets real life in the acclaimed journalist’s debut novel about American slaves escaping to the north [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] William Still (October 7, 1821–July 14, 1902) was a prominent abolitionist who coined the term Underground Railroad and, as one of the chief “conductors” in Pennsylvania helped thousands of people get free and settled away […]

Saginaw mother and daughter start public transport business | MLive

February 6, 2020February 6, 2020African American Commuities, African American Entrepreneurs

Magical realism meets real life in the acclaimed journalist’s debut novel about American slaves escaping to the north [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] A former national correspondent for the Atlantic magazine, Ta-Nehisi Coates is among the most revered and widely read intellectuals in the US. His bleak but scintillating book about race, We Were Eight Years in Power […]

How Reginald Hudlin’s creative risk-taking has shaped black—and pop—culture | Fast Company

February 5, 2020February 5, 2020African American Cinema, African American Film

Digging into Reginald Hudlin’s résumé is like the most inspiring rabbit hole you could possibly tumble down. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] Most people know Hudlin as the director of such classic ’90s films as House Party and Boomerang. And while he’s been consistent on the directing front, most recently with his Netflix doc The Black Godfather, about […]

Rush Limbaugh Seizes a Chance to Violate the N-Word Taboo (2013) | The Atlantic

February 5, 2020February 5, 2020Racism

The talk-radio host exploits the racial anxieties of Americans to be provocative, and reaps the rewards even when criticized. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] Over the years, Rush Limbaugh has raised his profile by deliberately violating various taboos. This excites his fans, who process transgressiveness as bravery, especially if it angers the left. It garners attention from Limbaugh’s […]

Everything you need to know about the cancer cluster in Houston’s Fifth Ward | Houston Chronicle

February 5, 2020February 5, 2020Environmental Activism

State authorities have identified a part of Houston’s Fifth Ward as a cancer cluster, a designation found where creosote was used since 1997 by Union Pacific. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] Creosote is a chemical used to treat wood railroad ties, which were treated by Houston Wood Preserving Works in the nearby Englewood Rail Yard. The chemical has […]

The 15th Amendment Was Ratified 150 Years Ago, but the Fight to Protect Black Voters Continues | Teen Vogue

February 4, 2020February 4, 2020African American History

OG History is a Teen Vogue series where we unearth history not told through a white, cis-hetero-patriarchal lens. In this edition, Jameelah Nasheed explains how the fight for Black voters’ rights has changed in the 150 years since the 15th Amendment was ratified. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] On February 3, 1870 — 150 years ago today — […]